Man quizzed over sexual assault in mountains

A 26-YEAR-OLD man from west Dublin was being questioned in Tralee garda station last night in connection with a vicious sexual attack on a young woman in the Wicklow mountains, on Sunday morning.

The man, who has been living in Tralee for up to four years, was arrested around teatime last evening.

It is understood a team of Wicklow-based gardaí are in Tralee as part of the investigation.

The 23-year-old woman suffered serious injuries to her head and body, including several broken teeth.

Gardaí believe she had earlier got into her assailant’s car after leaving a city centre nightclub in Dublin in the mistaken belief it was a taxi.

During the attack, she was tied up and brutally beaten with what is understood to have been a baseball bat. Her attacker also threatened to kill her.

Having driven her to a remote location in the Wicklow mountains, the man tried to rape her, but was disturbed by two men out hill-walking. The men noticed the struggle in the car shortly after 8am.

The attacker then dumped the woman out of the car at a spot known as the Feather Beds, near Glencree, Co Wicklow, and drove off.

The victim, who originally comes from the west of Ireland but who has been living in the Liberties area, was able to provide gardaí with more information about the incident yesterday as she continued to recover from her ordeal.

She was discharged from Tallaght Hospital yesterday.

Gardaí investigating the horrific crime said they were delighted with the response from the public to an appeal for help in tracing the attacker.

CCTV footage from various parts of the city is still being examined by gardaí.